It’s January 17th, 2021. 11:08 pm. i finally started listening to Heaux Tales.
As terrible as my memory is, you would think my reverence for singers like Jazmine wouldn’t make me wait nearly 10 days to listen to her latest project in 6 years. Unfortunately, the most consistent thing about me how is easily i forget things. If there’s one thing technology is good for is retrospection; my 2020 wrap-up playlist showed my affinity for the several versions of Sullivan.
My initial encounter with her music was with Lions, Tigers and Bears, from her debut record Fearless (2008). Bust Your Windows was a unavoidable hit during it’s run, but it wasn’t until i stumbled upon the swoop bang, twilight moment that gained critical acclaim. Her background in performing (there’s a video of her singing Home from The Wiz at like, age 9) set her up to be a super star.
Her subsequent two projects, Love Me Back (2010) and Reality Show (2015) were a pleasure to explore, and my favourite of her work were stuck in my mind, melodies to harmonies alike. Music is something i fill the silence i live in with, but the ability she has to pull on my heartstrings while singing is completely unique. The highs and dips she takes feel like a rollercoaster, and i happily give in to the unstoppable force. A good song will have you wondering where it went as soon as it came.
In this instance, Heaux Tales (2021) is important just because of what it means. As a black woman, this was made for me. The fact that a distinction has to be made is because of where i am in my life—it was always a very strange thing for me to synthesize from a child to adult while consuming media that i could never place myself in. The billboards, commercials, tv shows, movies, magazines were evident of the stance on what being black is. The narrowness of it only increases within womanhood.
Now that i’ve been thrown into adulthood, ive come to realize that i have control on what i feed myself.
Women are not “allowed” to exist as a sexual, immoral or selfish beings…
“Bodies (Intro)” is the welcome mat we step into with the his EP. The crux of the blunt lyrics talks about a girl who’s slowly but surely losing count of the amount of sexual encounters shes entangled herself with. It’s a mental monologue with a swing tempo that builds on itself vocally, until it fades out to a volley of Jazmine riffs rocking in and out of frame. It’s simple synth keyboard and finger snap cradles us until we slide on a distorted slip to the next track.
“Pick Up Your Feelings” thumps it’s way into motion with a heavy kick drum and, with a seemingly spacious instrumentation. Jazmine takes the centre stage with the melody, the band and support vocals shooting ad-libs for extra support. The waving midi in the bridge is all that’s left in the ring with Jasmines heavy-weight runs. She decided to release an acoustic version before giving us a studio version, giving us time to get familiar with the words and intricacies of what she does as a singer.
“Put it Down” is modern. While she still puts her signature Jazmine flip on the final chorus, the bulk of the song is a typical “dick too bomb” story that several of women relate to. Basic drums and Bryson Tiller hi-hats are typical, which isn’t entirely able to measure up to the songstress Sullivan is. Her story telling always shines through, even amid a surprise T-Pain auto-tune moment.
“On It” ft. Ari Lennox is a complete one-eighty. The slow and steady guitar is followed by Ari and Jazmine voices twirling together. They float and glide over the bass melody, lazy snare, and silky background vocals. This song is a fountain—it spurts out in moments of intensity, and recedes right after. As for the lyrics, i would suggest earphones for maximum enjoyment.
“Price Tags” ft. Anderson .Paak is a duo i was very happy to hear from again—her brief appearance on Ventura (2019) was a tease, leaving me wanting more. The drums, something .Paak is known to take hands on, is the central piece this time. The fluttering, shimmering “steel drums” brings to mind Bam Bam – Sister Nancy, giving it a vintage tinge. The love of money and what how it works between the woman and man in this relationship frames it in sensual, nearly sexual manner. In the end, he kicks her out, and she’s onto the next one.
“Lost One” is a weightless, silent ray of light. The lack of anything to distract from her voice sucks you in a room bathed in sunset glow. The song, which is contextualized by a woman recounting how she stepped outside of her engagement and slept with someone else, comes from a broken place. Making a final request of remembrance while acknowledging the wrong done on her side makes this song feel real.
“The Other Side” is a perfect blend of the two worlds Jazmine balances; pop and songwriting. The soaring strings, gusts of harmonies, and classic chord progression all come together to give it an arena sized presence. The bridge and final chorus drags us up, like a U.F.O, back to the compressed vocalizing from the beginning of the song. It quite literally goes from rags to riches, down to the quality of her voice. (It also happens to be my favourite track.)
“Girl Like Me” ft. H.E.R feels like credits; the acoustic guitar and vibrating bass feels like a natural jam session after church service. The casual atmosphere lends the mic to a girl who got left for someone else—the girl who doesn’t have a big booty or diamonds. The second verse lays it out plain and simple: they’re tired of guys who exalt superficiality and implied promiscuity in women over them, which directs them to become the same women they get left for.
After watching a few interviews and press about Heaux Tales, the picture she wanted to paint was received loud and clear after a few listens. The subject of women and our autonomy on our own bodies is a growing topic of discussion, especially with the rise of social media. Young girls are exposed to a never ending stream of beauty standards and societal assumptions on how they are expected to navigate this life. Women are not “allowed” to exist as a sexual, immoral or selfish beings; it’s a rite of passage in womanhood to decide between self-sacrifice or self-preservation. Appeasing men and other women is a balancing act that we learn to master through years of practice, while for some not so much.
The challenge of presenting both sides of the same coin for what they are— from a woman who enables and allows a man who she cant’ rely on in exchange for sex and affection, or a woman who only uses a man as capital to rise up the social ladder—the nuances and real life references makes this record a intentional piece of art. My one and only gripe is that we don’t necessarily hear any stories from Jazmine specifically, even though she acts as a proxy for the emotions of the tales shes re-telling us. And yes, this is an EP but i was eager to hear from Jazmine’s own personal pen, something we’ll hopefully get later this year.
Heaux Tales gave me a glimpse into the lives of women that aren’t typically given the spotlight. Each song felt like walking past the open door into the life of different women, unfiltered, non scripted. This is the kind of art that should be shared and discussed between friends, family, and all in between. ✶
in my own little corner 